On this date in 1971, the great progressive rock group Yes released its breakthrough third album. It was the first album to feature Steve Howe on guitar, and their last with keyboardist Tony Kaye (replaced by Rick Wakeman). The Yes Album was also the group’s first to contain all original music.
The first two Yes albums contained some original songs, and also covers of the Beatles, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Richie Havens. While they were critically well received the records didn’t sell and the band’s recording contract was in danger of being canceled.
Under this intense pressure, in the summer of 1970, Yes retreated to a rented farmhouse in South Molton, Devon, where they lived, and wrote and rehearsed new, original material. The environment seems to have inspired, as the new songs were inventive and plentiful, and the band meshed like never before. Steve Howe liked the farm so much he eventually bought the property. The band returned to London’s Advision Studios and recorded the new album in the fall of 1970.
Chris Squire – Steve Howe – Tony Kaye – Bill Bruford – Jon Anderson
The Yes Album cemented the group’s signature sound: close 3-part harmonies featuring Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and Howe, Kaye’s Hammond organ, and Squire’s “lead bass” style. Howe’s guitar adds blues, folk, country and classical elements. The album is probably most remembered for “Yours Is No Disgrace”, “Starship Trooper” (named after the Robert Heinlein novel) and “I’ve Seen All Good People”, but the whole album shines.
The album cover was shot the day after the band was involved in a car accident while returning from a gig. Tony Kaye broke his foot, and is shown seated and wearing a plaster cast.
The Yes Album was a critical and popular success. It is certified platinum, reached #4 in the UK and #40 in the US, and received a 5-star rating in “The Rolling Stone Record Guide (“Indispensable: a record that must be included in any comprehensive collection.”). Rush fans might like to know that Geddy Lee lists The Yes Album in his all-time favorites.
The album was truly a springboard to the group’s success. When The Yes Album was released, the group was touring the UK, opening for Iron Butterfly. By the summer of 1971, Yes toured the US for the first time, opening for Jethro Tull. They were back in the States in the fall of 1971, touring with Ten Years After and the J. Geils Band, as their fourth album, Fragile, was released. Fragile charted #4 in the US and #7 in the UK. America had fully embraced Yes.
